Run robot, run

Despite reports that Britain's food and drink manufacturers are laggards in the international automation and robotic system stakes, one message to emerge from last month's Processing & Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA) show held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham was that things are changing.

While smaller firms are failing to recognise that automation systems need not cost the earth, the bigger players have caught on to the benefits - not least, speed and consistency, flexibility and reduced cost of production.

Surprisingly, the news did not come primarily from the big robotic equipment manufacturers, but from specialist vision and sensor system suppliers, such as Sick UK and Omron, which are currently working on projects with blue chip companies in the field.

Upstream robotics

Their comments were supported by Doncaster-based Centre for Food Robotics and Automation project manager Nigel Hall. Hall claimed that more firms were starting to look at robotics for upstream food processing operations rather than for more traditional end-of-line packaging and palletising jobs, such as the CSK Systems installation for Cadbury's Sheffield factory (see Food Manufacture October 2008 p55). Hall said there was interest from the UK confectionery sector, in which some firms have seen production lost to cheaper regions overseas in recent years.

Sick UK used PPMA to launch a new three-dimensional (3D) vision system, which it claimed achieved a good return on investment for quality inspection. It is currently installing systems with a major biscuit manufacturer.

The 3D Sentinel Vision system, developed by Adbro in partnership with Sick, can detect when bakery and confectionery products exceed dimensional tolerances prior to packaging. It is said to offer new levels of quality inspection - especially when linked to real-time production. Other benefits claimed include reduced packing line downtime and less material wastage.

"The Sick/Adbro team was challenged to solve a problem tracking the height and shape of biscuit products prior to wrapping," said Sick vision systems specialist David Hannaby. "The biscuits' profiles were straying out of tolerance accumulating an oversize, which led to whole batches of product being wasted as they were difficult or impossible to pack."

Unsatisfactory packs sometimes escalated into major line downtime, as the packs would burst under handling, added Hannaby. "In addition, checking back on all the production tolerances up the line to determine the exact problem and recalibrating the process machinery could cause expensive and time-costly production hold-ups."

Located over a conveyor belt, the camera comprises a vertically mounted eye-safe laser with the camera detection mounted at an acute angle. This enables the camera to detect the detailed profile of the item passing through the laser beam and enables the depth of profile and any surface defects to be detected.

"The system is a cost-effective and robust solution to a significant problem for any bakery or food product where tight tolerances for packing are important," Hannaby said.

Meanwhile Omron has installed its Xpectia vision inspection at another well-known UK bakery. Xpectia provides real-colour sensing, high resolution and 3D functionality for applications, however complex.

Tray sealing

Things have moved on significantly since Packaging Automation (PA) launched its film-saving in-line Eco-cut tray sealer at the Foodex Meatex show in April this year.

Speaking at the PPMA show, PA's sales manager Neil Ashton said that installations in salads, fresh fruit and ready meals had proved that, rather than the predicted 33% film savings, in practice film savings were 46% - with one customer managing to seal 8,200 trays from just one reel of film, compared with 4,440 trays on a normal tray sealer.

As well as using less film and reducing production downtime, the Eco-cut can accommodate thinner gauge film (14 microns), which reduces packaging cost and weight. To boost its green credentials further, recycled polyethylene terephthalate thermoformed trays can be used, with a variety of biodegradable and compostable packaging.

Mecaplastic exhibited several new tray sealing equipment developments, including the S304, an entry-level machine that allows hermetic sealing of all heat sealable trays.

Also on show was the S800, a compact semi-automatic tray sealer equipped with a 25m3 vacuum pump and motorised film drive; and the automatic in-line S3000DP, which doubles the capacity of an earlier model.

Whether the funding squeeze affects automation investment remains to be seen. But it would be a short-sighted move. FM